Cremeens guilty of electioneering

Woodford Co. Board member sentenced to community service, fined for violation of Illinois election code

Laura Nightengale of the Journal Star

EUREKA — A Woodford County Board member was fined and sentenced to community service Friday morning for a rare misdemeanor electioneering conviction.

Don Cremeens pleaded guilty to campaigning in an election zone, a violation of the Illinois election code, and was sentenced to one year of court supervision, 50 hours of community service and fined about $500 for soliciting support of a letter in the Woodford County Courthouse while early voting was being conducted.

Cremeens declined to make a public comment Friday on the letter or charges after his court appearance.

The election code prohibits campaigning or campaign materials within 100 feet of a polling place, a rule most public officials and their supporters are familiar with.

Tom Bride, executive director of the Peoria City Election Commission, said that while electioneering complaints occasionally arise, seldom are they valid and very rarely do they result in a formal charge or conviction in central Illinois.

“I think it’s pretty rare for it to be convicted,” Bride said. “When this comes up occasionally on election day for us, or during early voting, some people think you can’t have anything on the property, and there’s some confusion where you can have (campaign materials).”

Bride, who can’t remember an electioneering charge being filed since he took over the commission in 2005, said that complaints usually come from voters — the investigation into Cremeens’s actions came at the request of Woodford County Board Chairman Stan Glazier — and are usually the result of misinterpreted rules or inaccurate estimations of 100 feet.

“We get complaints occasionally, and inevitably they are beyond 100 feet,” Bride said.

Laura Nightengale can be reached at 686-3181 or lnightengale@pjstar.com. Follow her on Twitter @lauranight.